Greening Fingers

We have been now living in our new house (at least the old Victorian one we moved into) for a year. The odd thing is, this house really feels like ours - unlike the previous house which we lived in for over 10 year but which always somehow felt like it was "rented". I suppose part of it is down to the fact that I always knew that living in the middle of nowhere wasn't entirely practical. Whilst I enjoyed the quiet and seclusion I also rather missed not being able to walk to the local shop/pub/library or whatever I needed. As much as I enjoy driving there are many occasions on which I rather wish I didn't have to.

The one thing that has surprised me is how much we have done to the new place. I was reluctant to spend anything when we first moved in - partly because I had a bridging loan on the old house and a level of debt that would make most mortal men shudder (or if you are Greek, shrug). However, since selling the old house we have done quite a bit to the new place - either out of choice, such as re-fitting the bathroom and decorating the downstairs rooms; or through necessity such as re-felting the flat extension roof.

One thing we have been trying to do properly is the garden. In the old house I never really got any real enjoyment from the garden. I spent most of my time either cutting back foliage or cutting the grass in the few odd hours that the weather would permit. I think the main problem is that it was just too large: the grass alone was a quarter of an acre. The garden in the new house is less than half the size but it is still big by most standards and we are managing to get it under control. We conspired with our neighbours to get rid of the Leylandii hedge (much to their relief) which makes the garden feel much brighter and more spacious and I cut back the bushes at the back which were also completely overgrown. However, we have also made an effort to constructively plant things.

We have replanted one side of the garden completely - partly with lavender but also with fruit bushes which was always a plan at the old house but was habitually shelved after I wore myself out with an axe and chainsaw and bloody great bonfire. The bushes we have planted don't look up to much yet (they are just woody stumps) and I don't expect to see much in the way of fruit this year, but in future we should have a reasonable supply of raspberries, blueberries, Tay and Loganberries and honeyberries. The last is  a new one on me but apparently they are a type of edible honeysuckle which originates from Northern Russia. They are an odd looking thing but if they can survive the Winter in Siberia, then the Scottish weather should be a doddle.